Engine



A. M. PORTER 233,213

Filed March 5, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

ALBERT MPbnTEB I Aug. 21, 1945.

A. M. PORTER ENGINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g m w a H M I F. U ,8 l

INVENTOR. Y M. Po a'r'sn ALBERT BY Patented Aug. 21, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ENGINE Albert M. Porter, Newton, Kans. Application March 3, 1944, Serial No. 524,890 4 Claims. (Cl. 60-60) This invention relates to an engine, and more particularly to that type that is operated by air,

' steam, or oil, under pressure and vacuum, and

has for one of its objects the provision of a plurality of vertically reciprocating pistons actuated by pressure and vacuum and controlled by slidingyalves, to turn a crank shaft as the power medium to which driven elements may be attac'h'ed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an engine producing power for driven elements, said engine, if so desired, being placed a considerable distance from the source of pressure and vacuum to run the engine, or a plurality of engines may be operated from one common source of pressure and vacuum.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an elongated and apertured throttle plate that is manually actuated, or otherwise, to control the revolutions per minutes of the engine crank shaft.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a sub-divided tank for pressureand vacuum, which is preferably placed in close relation to the engine, and a reservoir of oil in the tank to provide proper lubrication for pistons of the engine.

A still further object is the provision of a means to control the movements of the valves for regulation of pressure and vacuum to the reciprocating pistons of the engine, and furthermore to provide a float to restrict the quantity of oil escaping into the crank case of the engine.

These and other objects will hereinafter be more fully explained, reference. being had to the accompanying drawings. forming a Part of this specification, and in which like characters will apply to like parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. l is a side view of the engine, partly in section.

. start the engine, said oil also being used to prothrough the medium of a pipe 3, said compressor and pump not being shown in the drawings.

The compression chamber Acontains a res-' 'ervoi of oil A substantially one-fourth'of the area of said chamber to be used-instead of air to vide lubrication for parts of the engine.

A pipe 4 connects the engine with the chamber A near the top of said chamber, said pipe having a standard shut-off valve 5 to stop the force of compressed air to the engine, said pipe 4 also connecting with the bottom of said chamber A through the medium of a shut-ofi valve 6, whereby oil under pressure may be used to drive the engine instead of air compression. It will be understood that the oil and'air willbe forced into said chamber A by the said compressor in predetermined quantity that is controlled by the en gines use or leakage in the system.

A small pipe 'I connects the oil reservoir with pipe 4' providing a small quantity of oil to lubri. cate the pistons when air pressure is exclusively used to drive the engine. a

It will be seen that pipe 4 is the intake for air to force pistons of the engine downward while pipe 8 connecting the engine with chamber B is the exhaust to allow the air or oil to escape outward of the engine and into chamber B when the pistons are being moved upward, and when the pistons have reached their farthest upward movement, a new charge of air or oil will be injected into the engine to cause operation thereof.

The engine comprises a cylinder block 9 secured to a crank case In, and an oil pan II to function as a bottom for the crankcase-the block consisting of 'a top plate l2 and a series of annular walls Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 in I the chambers A and B fo compression and vacuum respectively. Pressure is created in chamber A by any suitable air compressor through the medium of a pipe 2, while suction is created in chamber B by any suitable air suction pump I2 forming cylinders H, M, ii, and I6 for pistons l1, l8, l9, and 20, respectively, reciprocating therein. Integral with the sides of the block but spaced inward from the top is an apertured' head 2|, the apertures 22, 23, 2t, and 25 communicat-.

ing with the cylinders H, N, 15, and I8, respectively, providing circulation of air, oil, or the like into and from the cylinders.

Positioned above the head in sliding contact therewith is a throttle plate 26, valves 21 and 28,

and a pressure plate 29, maintaining the valves,

throttle plate and cylinder head'in fluid and airtight sliding contact, said pressure plate being urged downward by a, pair of springs 30 seating in sockets 8| integral'with the pressure plate and contacting to plate H of said engine block, said top plate I2 having sockets 32 to receive the sockets 3| whereby the pressure plate will be re- Mi led. irom sliding movement longitudinally,

It'will be seen that all oil the interior area of the engine block, except the cylinders, is under constant pressure during operation at all times while openings 33 and 34 through the cylinder head communicate with the exhaust manifold 35 which connects to pipe 8. y

The throttle plate 28 controls the pressure coinmunicating with the cylinders; consequently controlling the revolutions per minute of the engine crankshaft, said throttle plate having openings 36, 37, 38, 39, 4t], and do" therethrough, the last said-openings til, 8!, t8, and 4!!" being the air intake ports, while openings El and so are means providing passage of exhaust air from the cylinders to the exhaust ports 38 and 36.

A pin Ill seating in the head limits the forward and backward movement of said throttle plate,- the upper end of said pin playing in a groove 62 formed in the bottom of said plate, whereby the ports 36, 37, 38, $38, 40, and 89' may be entirely closed or opened as desired by the operator for controlling the speed of the engine, said throttle plate being connected to a manually controlled pull rod 433, the free end of said rod extending outward through the block and being connected to a lever as that is rockably mounted on a plate 45, the plate having ribs 46 on its face, whereby force must be applied to rock the lever but set when the manual force is released.

The valves 2i and so are hon shaped having a top but void or a bottom, whereby when moved reciprocatingly later described, the same will continued relation.

It must be remembered in the description of this engine that the right hand end of the engine is considered the "front," while the lelt hand end is considered the "rear or the engine, and when operations are described the terms "front" and rear will be used.

Positioned in the crankcase c is a crankshaft 4i Journalled in end hearings to and intermediate bearings 49, the intermediate bearings being supported by webs as integral with the sides of the crankcase. 5!, 52, b3, and M are the rods connectlng pistons il, l8, l9, and 28 with the crankshaft, and viewing from the front of the engine and noting the position as shown in Fig. 1, it will be understood that crank connecting rod 6| is positioned at the left side of the longitudinal axis of said crankshaft, crank 01 said rod IE2 at the extreme right, crank, of rod 53 completely down and crank of rod 54 completely up, whereby piston i1 is half way up, piston ll half way down, piston is entirely down, and piston entirely up. Adjacent the ends of the engine but internally positioned are controlling means for automatically rocking the valves 21 and 28 in timed relation to the movement of the pistons, and in substantial alignment with the controlling means and secured on the crankshaft adjacent the ends of the engine are eccentric discs 55 and 55', said discs having straps 58 to rockably connect the discs to their respective pistons 51 and 51 reciprocating in hubs 58 and 58' at the bottom or said block, said pistons being connected rockably to their respective double-hooked-reversing elements 59 and 58', operatingin working relation to rocker arms 80 and 80'. The rocker arms each are rockably carried on a pin 8| which is rigidly fastened to casting 82 that is removably secured'to its respective end wall of the block, each costing having two extending portions 0 and D, portion D being the supporting means on which to connect one I end of the rocker arm, the other extending p01- tion 0 having its outer end secured to the cylinder head for purpose later described. The other end of each rocker arm extends upward and has secured thereto one end of a. pull rod 53, the other end of the pull rod being connected to its respective valve. Extending outward from one side of the rocker arms 80 and so at their lower ends are pins 8G and 85, and 56 and 61, respectively, there being one positioned at the right and one left side of the aids on which the arms rock, the pins playing in their respective bifurcations E and F of the double hooked elements, and as the eccentric discs to and to rotate, the rocker arms in their rocking movements will move valves 2i and 28 reciprocatingly to control the exhaust and intake or air, or oil, in the cylinders in timed relation to the reciprocating pistons.

The engine as shown Fig. 1 will rotate the crankshaft clockwise viewing the "front ofthe engine, but should the double-hooked elements be rocked inward from their. respective end of the trol the air. or oil pressure to the cylinders in engine, the rotation of the crankshaft will be counterclockwise, as the change 0! position of the valves as moved by the rocker arms will reverse the intake and exhaust to the cylinders. The double hooked elements are moved inward or outward to engage a selected pin on a rocker arm by a double piston arrangement for each hook, piston 68 being a small piston and 6! a large piston, and a rod to connecting the some together, the smaller piston communicating with the interior of the engine-and the larger piston being moved inward and outward by pressure and a vacuum respectively as controlled by a valve II connected to the pistons by a pipe system 12, the

valve also being connected to a pressure pipe 13 I and a vacuum pipe 13', and as the core 14 of the valve is turned as shown in Fig. l, suction will be created in cylinders I ii to move the pistons outward, whereby the double-hooked elements may be moved outward or inward through the medium of a bar it having one of, its ends connected to the small piston,'and a block 11 rockably secured to the bar a spaced distance inward from the other end, said block slidably engaging in an elongated slot to through said hook elements to move reciprocatingly therein, the ends of said bars opposite the piston ends being rockably connected to the lower ends of vertically positioned links 80, the

upper ends being rockably connected to the extension C of the castings 62.

Should oil escape into space G between the double-acting pistons a tube 82 is provided for each set of pistons to allow drainage into the crankcase. There is also provided drain plugs 83 for the block and a drain plug- 84 for the crankcase.

To provide proper lubrication for the piston connecting rods, SI, 52, 53, and 5-4, and eccentrics, 55 and to, is through the medium or a piston 85 slidably engaging in a cylinder 88, the piston 85 being connected to the front eccentric straps to to reciprocate the piston, said cylinder having apertures 87 to permit oil from the crankcase sioned ball 82 to permit oil through the pipe ll but prevent a backward flow of oil from the crankshaft.

Should oil escape between the cylinder walls of the engine and respective pistons of. the block and fill the crankcase or pan above the amount shown in the crankcase, float '93 will raise the needle valve 96 from-its seat and permit oil to enter the duct 95 which communicates with a suction pipe 96 that is connected to the suction side of the tank to withdraw the oil and return it to the suction pump.

A brief description of the operation of the engine is as follows:

The pressure and suction pumps are first op erated to cause a pressure and vacuum in chambers A and B respectively. The valve 6 is opened to force oil into the cylinder block, and with the pistons, valves and throttle plate positioned as shown in Fig. 1, oil under pressure will be 'permitted to enter cylinder l4, forcing the piston l8 downward to rotate the crankshaft clockwise as the crank connecting the piston i8 is positioned at the right side of the turning axis of the shaft.

Piston rod 5| is at the left and therefore moves piston ll upward, exhausting air outward from cylinder it through the valve 21 and exhaust opening 33 communicating with the pipes leading to the vacuum'chamber B. Pistons l9 and 26 are downward and upward respectively, and therefore no pressure or vacuum is required until the front eccentric disc 55 rotates sufliciently to move valve 28 rearward until ports 24 and 25 begin to open,

at which time suction is created in cylinder IS' relation to the pistons. The throttle plate controls the amount of air pressure in said cylinders and thereby the revolutions per minute of the crankshaft. It will be imderstood that the crankshaft is the power medium to which driven mechanism will be connected in any suitable method to flt the condition.

When airis used instead is oil, valve 5 may be opened and valve 6 closed to permit air pressure to operate the engine. It is understood that the small tube 1 allows suficient oil topass to the cylinders for proper lubrication when air pressure is used.

with the engine at a stop and it is, desired to reverse the rotation of the crankshaft, the core of the valve II is turned to create a pressure against the double acting pistons whereby the doublehooked elements will engage oppositely disposed pins on the rocker arms to move theyalves 21 and 28 oppositely from that shown and above described. In the reversing action, pressure would be exerted on piston ll instead of piston l8 as was requiredfor clockwise rotation of the crankshaft.

While, the engine has been describedas using air to create compression for the engine, the same may be substituted by steam, in which case a steam boiler will be used to provide the steam,

and also the compression and vacuum of chamhere A and B maybe accomplished by a circulating force pump that is motor-driven in any suitable way. It will be seen that the pipes land 3 are broken and it will be understood that they will connect to a source of pressure and vacuum, respectively, the latter not being shown in the drawings; however the pressure source must have any suitable means providing a predetermined ward from the top of the engine block, and an aperturedv head integral with the walls at'their upper ends, the-apertures of the head communicating the interior of the block with the cylinders, a manually controlled operated throttle plate in slidable contact with the head, the apertures of the plate and apertures through the head adapted to register, a. pair of box-shaped valves movable on the last said plate. the head having two openings communicating the block with the exterior of the 'block' as an exhaust for end having a pair of pins spaced apart, means to connect the other end to its respective eccentric of the element with a selected pin for a predetermine'd direction of movement'of the valves in timed relation to the pistons, a source of compression and suction to operate the double-action pistons and providing for compressionandexhaustion for reciprocating the cylinder pistons as controlled by the movement of the valves across the aperturesand openings in the head, and an oil pump system to provide lubrication of the connecting rods of the engine, said system having means to permit excessive oil to be withdrawn from the crankcase thru the medium of -the source of suction.

'2. In an engine of the class described, an en gine block, a plurality of vertically disposed cylinders rigidly carried therein, istons for said cylinders and means to connect the pistons to a crankshaft, an apertured head to close the upper end of the cylinders, a manually controlled operated throttle plate movable over the head, said plate having apertures to register with the apertures in the head, a pair of box-shaped valves movably arranged on the said apertured plate, a rockably mounted arm for each valve, one end of said arm being secured to its respective valve,

the other end having a pair of pins thereon in spaced relation, a doubled-hooked element to engage a selected pin, an eccentric disc for each valve mounted on the crankshaft and means to rockably connect the double-hooked element to the'disc to rock the valves, a double-acting suction and pressure actuated piston for each valve and means to connect the piston to the doublehooked element to engage a pin selectively, and a source of compression and suction-to operate the double action pistons, and the cylinder's pistons as controlled'by the valves.

3. In an engine, as recitedin claim 2, an oil pump system for the engine, said system comprising a cylinder and a piston therein, link means to connect the latter piston to one of the eccentric discs, said latter cylinder having apertures in its w 1 through which oil will enter to fill the sa e, a spring tensioned valve to permit movement of oil from said latter cylinder but restrict the oil from returning through said valve, an oil operated float and a needle valve rockably carried by the pump, said pump having a duct to communicate the interior of the enginewith the exterior and said needle valve adapted to close or open the duct as actuated by the float 4. In an engine of the class described, an engine block, and a crankcase therefor, a plurality of vertically disposed annular walls forming cylinders for pistons, the upper ends of the walls terminating a spaced distance downward from the top of the engine block, an apertured head to close the upper ends of the cylinders, the

' apertures of the head communicating the interior of the block with the cylinders, a manually controlled operated throttle plate in slidable contact with the head, the apertures of the plate and apertures through the'head adapted to register, a pair of box-shaped valves movable on the last said plate, the head having two openings communicating the block with the exterior of the block as an exhaust, and a pressure plate to retain the valves and throttle plate in close sliding contact with the head, the engine having a crankshaft and rods connecting the shaft with the pistons, an eccentric disc mounted on the shaft for each valve, a rocker arm for each valve and means to 'rockably carry the rocker arm at ,one end, a pair of pins spaced apart and being secured to said end, a double-hookedelement to engage a selected pin and means to connect the double-hooked element to its respective eccentric disc, a double-acting suction and pressure actuated piston for each valve to cause' engagement of the double-hooked element with a selected pin for a predetermined direction of movement of the valves in timed relation to thepistons, a source of compression and suction to operate the double-action pistons and providing for compression and exhaustion for reciprocating the cylinder pistons as controlled by the movement of the valves across the apertures and openings in the head.

' ALBERT M. PORTER. 

